


You Saw Me Standing Alone

by destieluk



Series: The Wrap-Around Porch Verse. [8]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Human Castiel, M/M, Vampire Benny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 19:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2439590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destieluk/pseuds/destieluk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas gives Benny a gift. Set shortly after Everything Is A Beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Saw Me Standing Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to earth_dragon for the idea of Benny calling Cas his 'little bird' which helped this ship carve its way in to my heart.
> 
> This is hopefully a small collection of domestic drabbles. Human Cas and Benny find each other drifting aimlessly around the country. They decide to stick together, settling into life in a small town next to the river. Not in chronological order.
> 
> For Myr, who listens to my dumb headcanons and indulges me in my pretence that I can write.

Cas is on his way home from work when he sees it. He slows down on his bike as he cycles past the hardware store window and there it is. A large transistor type radio, pistachio green with a large dial. Its curves and lines remind him of the jukebox at the diner where Benny works. The vampire likes to save up all his quarters, jingling them in his pocket as he walks from the kitchen, past the shiny red leather seats of the booths and tables, to slot them into the machine and flick through the long lists of songs. Once he’s made his choices, he’ll waltz back to the kitchen, a soft smile on his lips and soon the whole diner will hear him whistling along with each tune as he cooks up a storm. The memory warms Castiel from the inside out. He halts the bike and leans it up against the store window. As he pushes the door open a bell rings softly, announcing him.

‘Hey Cas! Be right with you!’ calls a dark haired man, waving from the back of the store as he wipes his hands. 

‘Hello Frank’, says Cas, waving his acknowledgement with one hand. Since they moved into the cabin and started fixing it up, they’ve become regular customers of the little hardware store, one block away from the diner and ten minutes cycling from the Gas n Sip. Benny will often pop in on his way by to pick up something he needs for a task. Sometimes he’ll ask Cas to pick up a tool or certain type of screw, and Cas meticulously writes each thing down on a post-it note, which gets presented to the store owner. Frank will wrap everything in brown paper before helping Cas pile his goods into the wicker basket on the front of his bike.

‘So, what can I do for you today?’ asks Frank as he settles himself back behind the counter.

‘The radio in the window’, says Cas, ‘it looks old. Does it work?’

‘Ah yeah, it’s a beauty, isn’t it? Picked it up from one o’ those antique shows a coupla months back. I took out all the old workings and put in a new transistor, so, yeah, it should pick up all the local channels just fine. You interested?’

‘More than interested. Could you wrap it for me, and I’ll take it now?’

Cas pats his pockets, pulling out his wallet. He looks at the pricetag before realising that he has no idea if the price is reasonable or not. He carefully counts out the bills anyway, glad that he had this impulse on the day after payday. As is his custom, Frank wraps the radio in brown paper, and then helps Cas settle it safely in the basket of his bike before waving the dark haired man on his way.

The weight of the radio means that Cas has to cycle a little more deliberately than usual, and it’s beginning to get dark as he rounds up the dirt path that leads to the cabin door. The first heavy spots of rain are hitting the ground, and he drags his bicycle up the porch steps before wedging it next to the bench under the window where it’ll be protected from the worst of the weather. He carries the radio through into the kitchen, setting it tenderly on the sideboard out of the way. 

Cas is just getting changed after his shower when he hears the familiar rumble of Benny’s truck pulling up outside. The vampire darts out of the cab, pounding up the steps and barrelling through the front door in an attempt to outrun the now pouring rain. His arms are full of paper bags of food, still steaming slightly and he kicks the door shut behind himself, just as the angel shuffles back into the kitchen, barefoot and still damp around the edges.

Hey, little bird’, Benny says with a grin, ‘It’s fixing up a storm out there but I brought dinner. Gumbo, rice and some of Casey’s peach pie.’ He dumps the bags on the tiny kitchen table. Cas hums his appreciation as he opens cupboards, grabbing plates and cutlery so that Benny can serve the food. 

They settle at the table, one either side, knees barely touching. Cas greedily scoops the gumbo into his mouth as Benny eats at a more sedate pace. The vampire doesn’t really _need_ to eat, but they try to take a meal together every day, if they can. Benny has found that there are few things he enjoys more than feeding people. It helps with the _other_ hunger. Keeps it at bay. Reminds him that people are more than the cattle his father taught him that they were. That they have feelings, preferences, opinions. He finds a deep satisfaction in watching the former angel especially. Castiel approaches food in the same way he approaches everything - with concentration and deliberation. He eats with a single-mindedness that the vampire finds completely endearing. He’s honest in his opinions and Benny can’t help but take every seriously delivered comment and compliment to heart. He realises he’s staring as Cas shoots him tiny smiles around each mouthful of food. Eventually the former angel pushes his plate away and sighs contentedly.

‘Excellent, as always’, he delivers. ‘I think this might be my favourite thing you make.’

‘You haven’t eaten everything I make’, grins the vampire.

‘Not yet, but I hope I get the chance’, Cas says seriously, and Benny has to swallow to hide the shiver that curves down his spine. Clearing his throat, he stands to clear the table. They both listen quietly as the rain lashes against the windows. It beats a tattoo against the broken down loveseat and pools in the dips and cracks in the porch.

‘Oh!’ says Cas as his eyes fall on the paper wrapped package still on the sideboard, ‘I got something for you today’. 

‘You got something for me?’ Benny raises one eyebrow as he sets their dirty dishes in the sink. ‘What’s the occasion?’

‘I just… I saw it and I thought of you.’

‘Little bird, you are the sweetest thing’, teases Benny as Cas places the package on the table, blushing furiously. Wiping his hands on his old work pants, the vampire rejoins Cas at the table and then sets to work pulling away the paper eagerly. He hums low in his throat as he reveals the pale green device and runs his fingers over the silver chased trim. 

‘Do you like it?’ asks Cas nervously. ‘I thought… I know you like to listen to the music at the diner, and I thought maybe you might like to listen to music here too. At home’. He drags out a chair from the table and drops down onto it, still blushing.

‘Oh she’s a beauty’, Benny breathes, unconsciously echoing Frank’s words. He meets Cas’ bright blue gaze with his own, eyes shining with delight. Impulsively, he reaches across the table and grabs Cas’ hand, squeezing the long fingers with his own. Cas gently runs his thumb along the vampire’s knuckles, sending another small shiver down Benny’s spine. 

A sudden howl of wind and a blast of rain against the window breaks the spell between them and Benny clears his throat and stands, carrying the radio back over to the sideboard where he plugs it into the power outlet.

‘Let’s see what she can do’, he says, relieved that his voice doesn’t wobble much at all. There’s a sudden crackle and a hiss of white noise as he spins the dial searching for a channel. He scoots through the droning voices of the local news anchors and various Christian talk stations before the smooth sounds of Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald spill out into the small kitchen.

‘Ah, there we go’, he grins, swaying his hips and shuffling his feet along with the music. He spins round to see the angel watching him with a wide smile on his face. It makes Benny’s chest tight so see such open happiness on Cas’ face. The former angel doesn’t smile enough and Benny thinks he would do almost anything to see that expression more often.

‘C’mere’, he demands, holding out his hand to the dark haired man. Cas quirks his eyebrow, looking up at him in confusion. He tentatively reaches for Benny’s outstretched fingers.

‘Come where?’

‘Come on, fly boy, dance with me’, the vampire pulls Cas to his feet, spinning him round with a smile.

‘Benny’, says Cas seriously, ‘contrary to popular mythology, angels don’t actually dance’.

‘Then this is a good time to learn, I’d say’, Benny quips, holding one of Cas’ hands in his own and placing his other at the former angel’s waist. He tugs gently and Cas lets him whirl him round the kitchen table, though he keeps the doubtful look firmly on his face. 

At first, they stumble and trip around the room, Cas trying to watch where his feet are going while Benny grins and winks at him obnoxiously, singing loudly about sharks and pearly whites as he attempts to spin Cas around the table. They’re both laughing and Cas feels slightly breathless as Ella’s vocals fill his ears and the beat carries him forward. The angel is concentrating so hard on making sure his bare feet don’t end up under Benny’s booted ones that he doesn’t really notice that their bodies have been drifting closer together, his stiff and unsure next to Benny’s easily swaying frame. He can smell the earthy scent of the vampire, bright with the spices from the diner and sharpened with salt. The vampire drops his hands to either side of the former angel’s waist.

‘It’s all in the hips, little bird’, he teases but his voice is quiet and gentle, ‘you’ve got to loosen up’.

‘I’m aware’, says Cas dryly, looking up at the slightly taller man. They’re standing so close to each other that their chests are brushing against each other and Cas loops his arms round the vampire’s neck almost by instinct. 

‘Are you sure you’ve never done this before?’ Benny’s voice is a gentle puff against his cheek as he settles his hands in to the small of Cas’ back.

‘Never’, says Cas, his throat dry. He’s acutely aware of all the points that their bodies are touching, the heat from Benny’s hands bleeding through his shirt. ‘But I’ve observed humanity for a long time. Besides, I saw you dancing with Casey after closing time a few weeks ago’. He blushes furiously at the last admission, remembering that it was then he decided to find a way to bring music into the cabin. Benny had circled Casey around the diner, playfully dipping her and spinning her around in his arms until both of them were out of breath and giggling with glee. Castiel had been captivated by the delight on the vampire’s face and the bounce in his step.

The song draws to a close and they pause to catch their breath, blue eyes staring into blue. There’s a hiss of static as the next song starts up. 

‘I know this one. I hear you whistling it when you’re at work’, Cas flushes slightly at the admission, turning his head into Benny’s chest, away from the vampire’s gaze which is startlingly close.

‘Mmmm. It’s an old favourite. It reminds me of taking my girl dancing when I was back home… Before… ’, the vampire’s voice is low and soft, and his arms tighten unconsciously around the angel. He moves his hips in time to the beat, his mind taking him back to a decades ago dancehall and the young woman who taught him what it was to love humanity again. The place where he decided for the first time to give everything up for one person. His voice is quiet as he sings along, dragging up the words along with the memories.

'Blue moon  
You knew just what I was there for  
You heard me saying a prayer for  
Someone I really could care for'

Cas smoothes his hands across the back of the vampire’s neck, trying to soothe and comfort. He lets Benny rock him back and forth gently as he hums along.

‘You must have loved her very much’, he says softly, leaning into Benny’s body, resting his cheek against the broad chest. ‘You miss her, you miss home’.

‘I did, and I do’, Benny says as they continue to weave slowly around the cabin. Past the sofa, draped in the comforter that Cas thrifted in town, feet soft on the worn floorboards of the living room. It’s a small space, this place they are building together, this _thing ___they seem to be building between them, but the potential is there, like the seedlings that Cas has nurtured in his herb garden. Both of them have spent several lifetimes dealing in pain, and anguish and brokenness, but now they are fixing things, growing things, learning how to be whole again. The cabin is more than just a sanctuary from the wind and rain, and as they sway and circle, and Billie Holiday fades into a hiss of static, Benny rests his cheek on the top of Cas’ head and considers what it means to be home.

**Author's Note:**

> The first song Cas & Benny dance to is 'Mack The Knife' by Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington found here:  
> http://youtu.be/V8vbhXK-u_g?list=RDdQnNnPLC_b4
> 
> The second song Cas & Benny dance to is 'Blue Moon' by Billie Holiday found here:  
> http://youtu.be/ntDnwBiORu8
> 
> Both are wonderful versions of amazing songs and deserve to be added to your permanent playlist.


End file.
